The eyes of the AFLW world will be on West Coast this afternoon as the wooden-spoon contenders return to action seven days after their coach sparked controversy with post-match comments he later labelled unacceptable.
The Eagles take on fifth-placed Essendon at Windy Hill today, just the second team from last year’s finals series they have faced this season.
That’s despite Michael Prior claiming it was unfair they were forced to play reigning premier Narrm last week, a match they lost by 70 points.
The third-season coach defended his position this week and says he believes he is still the man to lead the club through its extensive rebuild, but more heavy defeats in the final three weeks of the season would be disastrous.
Captain Emma Swanson expressed her own frustrations at the club’s plight. They have won just seven games in five seasons in the league.
“It’s been five years and we haven’t won many games, so that is frustrating within itself,” she said.
“The consistency that we show throughout the games ebbs and flows and that’s what is killing us at the moment, from my point-of-view.
“I don’t have the answer, I don’t know if it’s age, because we’ve got young girls and one week they are superstars and the next week they are just not able to string the games together.
“I don’t know if that is the missing piece or not, but that is how it feels at the moment.”
West Coast beat Essendon in a pre-season match this year, a result that sticks out like a sore thumb as the teams sit at different ends of the ladder.
Madi Prespakis looms as a massive midfield threat to a side that has been on the back-foot and beaten up by the best clearance players in the game, while Bonnie Toogood has emerged among the best players in the competition with her impact forward.
Prior said he used the pre-season game in his preparation, but admitted the two teams’ opposing fortunes since.
“I think you can, I watched that again and how we went about it and we played some good footy on that day,” Prior said.
“They were pretty much full-strength that day. We have played them before and we have done well, but what they have done since that game, compared to what we have done since that game is completely different.
“They are sitting fifth on the ladder and we are 17th I think.”
The Eagles have dropped Ella Smith and Jaide Britton for the clash, they will be replaced by Mikayla Western and Abbygail Bushby.